What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

[toneseeker74]

Please help. All I can imagine is a lack of 3D "space" or complexity, kinda like the difference I hear going from my Seth Lovers to my 59s. The 59s sound good, but there's just more going on with the Seths besides increased mids.

[CTN]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

all humbuckers sound dry.
not all amps sound dry though.

Are you thinking of sterile maybe?

[jon the art guy]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

I'm guessing its an eq that's shelved a little higher than expected. Higher highs and less lows.

off u see did MRSAge, I m on tapa talk and auto correct is hating on me

[toneseeker74]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

all humbuckers sound dry.
not all amps sound dry though.

Are you thinking of sterile maybe?

I was looking on the Sheptone website. His Blue Sky pickup description says "This set was built to emulate the tone of Dickey Betts' famous Goldtop in a modern Les Paul. Alnico 4 Magnets and a different coil offset were selected to attain the "drier" tone of these specific pickups." I don't know what the heck "drier" means in this context. I know that Dickey sounds brighter, not as full/fat, and less overdriven than Duane in the live recordings I have. I thought that this was due more to his using 100 watt Marshall 1959 head with more headroom than Duane's 50 watt Marshall 1986 bass head. But pickups sounding "dry?" I dont' understand.

[CTN]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

I don't know either.

Never heard the term dry applied to pickups. Closest thing I can think of is either sterility or chewiness, (the difference between a ceramic and a lower order alnico magnet ie alnico 2, 3, 4)

Alnico 5 tends to be strong and clear in its reproduction of frequencies, for the most part. The lower order alnicos tend to be chewier in the lows, sweeter in the highs, and more complex in the mids. They allow for a sweeter kind of reproduction of the string sounds, whereas Alnico 5, Alnico 8 and especially Ceramic tend to be less so, maybe just due to the fact that they are generally much stronger magnets than alnico 2, 3, 4.

I wouldn't call it a dry/wet difference though.

[toneseeker74]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

Thanks, CTN. I'm still at a loss to understand "dry."

[DarkMatter]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

When I think of "dry", I think of Alnico 4 in a PAF. It is not smooth or round. It's a little edgy and crisp, but not harsh.

[Oinkus]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

Not thinking dry as in midrange full , bass and treble zero on the EQ ? No clue myself all the weird adjectives that are food words and such have been used for instruments forever and make no sense to me?

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

In my experience Dry in the guitar world typically means lack of effects or processing. So just a typical unaltered humbucker into an amp. But I have often heard dry as like a tone that lacks warmth, maybe with little fundamental, brittle, and thin?

[DreX]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

I've heard "dry" used to contrast the sound of a hollow body electric to a solid body.

[AlexR]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

I think its a flat eq response. Nothing stands out.

[King IzzO)))]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

I've seen the BK forum dudes call the Aftermath "dry". I don't get that, but I think it's maybe an English (as in UK) term for tight/stiff. I can see that, maybe EMG 81 and the like. Opposite of "juicy".

[Ryan84]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

I had some Gibson 490's in an SG that were overly dry sounding.

[Petie]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

For me that term conjures up Adam Jones' tone on Tool's "Undertow" album.

[Dahla]

Re: What does a "dry" humbucker tone sound like?

I think of dry as the opposite of harmonically rich. Crunch vs distortion for instance.


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